The Games of Hadrian: The Gladiator Gambit

he Roman Empire is celebrating the eighth anniversary of Hadrian’s succession. In Egypt, sacrifices are offered in the temples, chariot races are held in the Alexandrian Hippodrome, and in the arena, ten days of gladiatorial combats are fought in the blazing sun. Beyond the city, however, lies a turbulent province. Avidius Pollio, legate of the 22nd Legion, fears an uprising. Despite tight security, rebels make inroads from the desert, and robbers and river pirates are at their bloody work in the Delta. The imminent inundation of the Nile does little to allay the legate’s fears, and there are also signs that the province has an enemy within. Back in Alexandria, stepping out for the first time onto the arena sands is a familiar figure. With Egypt on the verge of rebellion, why has Gaius Flaminius Drusus, imperial agent, begun a new career—as a gladiator?